


How it all began...

by BrianThePhantomThief



Series: Shumako Role-swap [4]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Backstory, Cute Ending, F/M, Heartwarming, Roleswap, Romantic Friendship, What-If, shumako
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:13:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25717843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrianThePhantomThief/pseuds/BrianThePhantomThief
Summary: Ren introduces Makoto to his friends at Shujin Academy. They bombard her with questions about how she ended up as a criminal in the first place. And so, Makoto tells of how this all happened...
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Shumako Role-swap [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858342
Kudos: 13





	How it all began...

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve never been so inactive on this site!! Deeply sorry it took me  
> so long to get this done. Next one will probably be out in a while! So no need to sit tight!!
> 
> Please Enjoy!!

The days went by fast. Makoto and Ren had become very well acquainted with each other. And Makoto started to open herself up to him as a result. As of recently he was the only one who knew what Makoto had done to earn the title "criminal." But he didn't tell anyone else about it, as it would hurt Makoto's feelings.

One afternoon, Makoto met up with Ren on the school rooftop after classes were over. She was skeptical about what he had for her there of all places. But still went nonetheless. She wouldn't miss an opportunity to spend time with Ren after all.

When she arrived, she noticed that Ren was there. So she decided to wait for him. It took her a while to muster up the courage to text him.

Makoto: Hi, Amamiya-senpai.

Ren: Hi. Sorry if you're waiting, need to get something before I can see you.

Makoto: Okay just don't keep me waiting too long.

Ren: On my way there now. And remember, you can just call me Ren.

Makoto: I know...

After that, Makoto heard the sound of the stairs leading to where she was. She got up and waited for Ren to come out of the door. He did....only problem was that....he had company. Makoto automatically freaked out and ran behind Ren.

"Uh....really?" Ren sighed.

"Why didn't you tell me you had company!?" Makoto panicked.

"It's okay. They're my friends." Ren said.

"Nice to see ya again.....uh....." The voice of a brain dead Ryuji Sakamoto said.

"M-Ma-Makoto...." Makoto said behind Ren's back.

"Oh yeah! Makoto Niijima!" Ryuji said.

"You mean that transfer student?" A girl's voice said.

"The one with a criminal record?" A boy's voice said.

"The very same." Ren said.

"What're you doing hanging out with someone like that!?" Ryuji asked.

"Relax. She and I have been talking about her behavior and how she's to act around the school." Ren said.

"Nice one, Mr. President." The girl said.

Ren tried to pulled Makoto out from behind him, but she wouldn't move.

"You can’t stay behind there forever." Ren said.

"Mmm...." Makoto sulked.

She then walked out and introduced herself to everyone. They all got a good look at the brunette. She didn't look like that sorta criminal.

"Uh....hi....um.....Eep!" Makoto said and ran back behind Ren.

"Not the social type, huh?" Ryuji asked.

"Come on. Cut her some slack." The girl said. "It's nice to meet you, Makoto-chan. I'm Ann Takamaki."

"I-It's nice to meet you, T-Takamaki-san." Makoto said, peeking out from behind Ren.

"Oh yeah. And I'm Mishima." The boy said.

"N-Nice to meet you too, M-Mishima-kun." Makoto said.

"So, RenRen, what've you two been up to?" Ryuji asked.

"Just the usual. Getting to know her and all." Ren replied.

"She looks very latched onto you, Ren." Ann said.

"Is she not the best at these types of conversations?" Mishima asked.

"What does it look like?" Ren said.

"Amamiya-senpai? Are you sure they're not gonna hassle me?" Makoto asked softly.

"No. They wouldn't ever do that." Ren replied.

"Hey? What're you talking about?" Ryuji asked, coming behind Makoto.

Makoto panicked and held Ren tightly. She was very frightened by Ryuji's sudden approach.

"Ryuji. You can't get that close to her." Ren told his friend.

"Why not? She's not contagious, right?" Ryuji replied.

"No. She's just not good at handling others. She tends to panic and hide in fear." Ren told him.

"Well... Looks like she's doing more than that." Ann said.

"You're okay. No one's gonna hurt you." Ren told the girl.

"Yeah. I'm not that kinda guy. I'm not gonna mug ya or anythin'." Ryuji said.

"S-Sorry." Makoto said to Ryuji.

"It's okay. It only takes time." Ryuji said.

"O-Okay..." Makoto still held onto Ren.

"So...I'm sure you guys have a lot to ask Makoto here. So I please ask you do it One. At. A. Time. Understand?" Ren asked his friends.

And they.....completely ignored that end of the stick ad questions began randomly flying out of their mouths, giving Makoto a great deal of stress and anxiety. She held Ren for dear life.

"ONE! AT! A! DAMN! TIME! WHAT PART OF THAT DID YOU NOT GET!?" Ren outbursted.

"Woah. Chill out, dude." Ryuji said.

"Sorry. Just got a little carried away." Ren said. He looked at Makoto, who looked absolutely terrified.

“My bad.” He said to her.

“I-It’s okay, Amamiya-senpai.” Makoto said quietly.

Ren smiled at the girl, then turned back to his friends. He told them once more to ask her one question at a time and not to ask straight away. They all nodded and took turns asking Makoto.

“So....what’s life like as a criminal?” Ryuji asked.

“Not as bad as I initially thought, but still pretty dang bad.” Makoto replied.

“Can’t relate. But good to know it’s not as bad as ya thought.” Ryuji smiled.

“My turn. Makoto-chan, how has your life here been?” Ann asked.

“Ever since I met Ren, life here has been oddly enjoyable. But those rumors that keep spreading, they always find a way to get on my nerves.” Makoto replied.

“I heard that you were charged with assault.” Ryuji said.

“I-I...uh...”

“That leads to my question: what exactly did you do to end up with a criminal record?” Mishima asked.

“..........”

“Okay! That’s where I draw the line!” Ren said, sounding a bit upset.

“What’s wrong with asking? We’re all curious.” Ryuji told him.

“Yeah! But that stuff’s personal!!” Ann told the boys.

“Oh, shoot. My bad, Niijima-san.” Mishima said.

“It’s okay. You just wanted to know, that’s all.” Makoto said.

“So.....you gonna tell us?” Ryuji asked.

“Ryuji!!” Ann shouted, smacking the boy on the back of the head.

“Ow! Okay, okay! I’m sorry! Just curious!” Ryuji pleaded.

“But you don’t have to ask again!!” Ann told him.

Makoto looked nervous. She called Ren over and whispered something in his ear. He immediately looked at her with surprise and shock on his face. He gulped and nodded. Makoto then turned back to the others.

“Okay. If you want to know that much, I’ll tell you.” Makoto said.

“For real!?” Ryuji said.

Makoto nodded. Everyone looked surprised and tense.

“That’s okay. You don’t have to.” Ann said.

“Yeah. It’s probably something you want to keep to yourself anyway.” Mishima added.

“She’s actually told me about it. So it’s not really “keeping it to yourself” then.” Ren admitted.

“No way...” Ryuji said.

Makoto took a deep breath, looked at Ren, and began her story...

“It was something I terribly think I shouldn’t have done. But I tell myself that I couldn’t let that go.” Makoto began.

_“That day... I had to go home early. My sister called saying that she’d just got done with her job and wanted to visit our father’s tombstone. I was really excited about that, so I ran my way through the neighborhood. I was about a block or two away from my house when I heard something.”_

“Just get in the car!”

_“It was the voice of a man. I kept walking and looked around. I didn’t hear anything else and was about to turn the corner when...”_

“Stop it!!”

_“I heard a woman’s voice. She sounded like she was being somewhat serious. I look to the right and in the distance, I see a black car and a man forcing himself onto a woman. I decided to check it out and started walking towards the scene. All the while, hearing their argument, whatever it was about.”_

“How dare you cross me!”

“Stop it! Let me go!”

_“I arrived at about a distance from the problem. The man appeared to be wearing a suit. And we was indeed very drunk and forcing himself onto some woman. It was a frightening experience.”_

“No...!” cried the woman.

“Don’t give that shit...” the drunk man said.

_“I knew I couldn’t just stand there and watch. My father would’ve done something to stop this. His legacy rested on me, I told myself.”_

“Ow! P-Please stop...!” the woman cried.

_“I made up my mind: I had to save that woman! I quickly ran closer to the scene and kept quiet as I watched on.”_

“Tch... what a waste of time.” the drunk man said. “You think you’re worth causing me trouble? Huh?”

“I-I’ll call the police!” the woman cried.

“Heh, call them if you want! The police are my bitches. They’re not gonna take you seriously.” the drunk man said.

“No... Stop...!” the woman cried again.

_“Then, the sounds of sirens caught our attention. It sounded like they were only a few minutes away form where we were.”_

“Someone called the cops, huh?” the drunk man said. “Get in the car! Incompetent fools like you just need to shut your mouths and follow where I steer this country.”

_“The drunk man then turned around and noticed me. I looked at him, entirely engulfed in anger.”_

“What’re you looking at? Get outta my face!” He said to me. “This ain’t a show. Get lost, kid.”

“No! What you’re doing isn’t right!” I told him.

“See? This is all because you’re so damn slow!” the man told the woman. “Get in the car!”

_“He then tired to push the woman into the black car. She struggled but was clearly being overpowered by the drunk man.”_

“Please! Help!!” She cried to me.

_“I couldn’t take it any longer. I stepped up and pulled the man off the woman with some kinda mysterious strength that suddenly went through me. Even I was surprised. The man toppled over his feet and fell face-first on the sidewalk. I stood in front of the woman, thinking about what I just did. It felt like those weren’t my own actions. The man got up, hand on his face as blood came out of a bad scar. And I’ll never forget what he told me. That changed my life for the worst:”_

“Damn brat! I’ll sue!”

_“After that, everything was a blur. It all happened at once and before I knew it, I was charged with a crime I didn’t commit. In my head, I think back to that night and ask myself, ‘what did I do wrong!?’ But it got worse once I got some terrible news. My sister had been fired from her job as prosecutor. And she put the blame on me. She yelled at me and told me what a terrible and bad thing I was to her. That was the last time my sister ever spoke to me. I cried myself to sleep that night, hoping my father would help me through this. But it only made the pain worse. I was alone, weak and depressed. I never did anything wrong in my life. And now it took a turn for the worst...”_

“I-It made me realize.......th-that in the end......I’m not a.....an angel anymore...” Makoto choked a sob.

“It’s wasn’t fair! All I did was save a woman! A-And I end up as the bad one! I-I lost everything! N-No one talked to me! I-I.....” Makoto couldn’t hold back tears and started crying. Ren held her in a tight embrace.

“Damn......that shit’s tough....” Ryuji said.

“That’s terrible. I’m so sorry for you, Makoto-chan.” Ann said.

“Now I really regret asking you that. Forgive me, Niijima-san.” Mishima said.

“I-I’m sorry. That always makes me cry. But....it does make feel better.” Makoto said.

“You’re not alone anymore, Makoto.” Ren told her.

“Yeah. I know. I have you, Amamiya-senpai.” Makoto said.

“Hey. Don’t forget us.” Ann said.

“Huh?”

“After hearing a story like that, ya think we’re not gonna let it slide? Hell no! From now on, you’re good in my books.” Ryuji said.

“It’s not like we’re going to let you feel the pain all by yourself. You deserve something better out of this. And hey, friends always have to stick together.” Mishima said.

“Yeah. And hey, you fit right in with us. We’ve all had our fair share of life being a big bastard. Well....most of us...” Ann said.

“See? You’re not alone, Makoto. You’ve got friends here, who are willing to help you embrace the pain of your life decision. So we wanna help you. And you’ll help us.” Ren told her.

“Guys......” Makoto had tears in her eyes and held Ren tighter. “Thank you!”

“No prob. Least we can do for letting you tell your story.” Ryuji said.

“We’ll have your back from now on. Just say the word, Makoto-chan.” Ann said.

“If you need anything, just ask. We’ll always be there to help.” Mishima said.

“Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.” Makoto said.

“While you’re at it, give us your chat ID.” Ryuji said.

Makoto nodded and pulled out her phone. The others did the same and exchanged chat IDs.

“Now you’ll always stay in touch with us.” Ann said. “Hope we get along.”

“Same to you, Takamaki-san.” Makoto said. “You too, Sakamoto-kun and Mishima-kun.”

“Anytime.” Ryuji said.

“Yeah.” Mishima said.

Everyone looked at Makoto and brung her in for a group hug. She couldn’t be more happier with her new friends. Friends that would always have her back and keep her motivated.

“Wow. Compare to us, you’re like a little goblin.” Ryuji said.

“Hey!” Makoto said.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> Like what your read? Check out my other fanfics! You'll have a blast reading them!! 
> 
> Have a great day!!


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